What is the Tomatometer™?

The Tomatometer rating – based on the published opinions of hundreds of film and
television critics – is a trusted measurement of movie and TV programming quality
for millions of moviegoers. It represents the percentage of professional critic reviews
that are positive for a given film or television show.

From the Critics

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Fresh

The Tomatometer is 60% or higher.

Rotten

The Tomatometer is 59% or lower.

Certified Fresh

The Tomatometer is 75% or higher, with 40 reviews (movies) or 20 reviews (TV). At least 5 reviews from Top Critics.

With the cupboard bare, Willimon does his best to inject some residual humanity into House of Cards in Season 3. But it's awfully hard to retroactively Frankenstein a human heart into what is essentially a monster show.

The season starts extremely slowly, but gets pretty good, starting in the third episode. It never reaches the dark, dramatic heights of previous seasons, but it's also a little more focused and intelligent than they were.

House of Cards benefits from hurried viewing. It keeps you from noticing how much of a political soap opera it really is, or questioning who to root for, since every major character is just different shades of self-obsessed and power-hungry.

As I would never underestimate Frank's ability to change the course of events with a quick sleight of hand, I wouldn't count out the show's writers quite yet. I will definitely be streaming the entire season this weekend.

I like this show, and sometimes I really like it. But it often keeps the audience at a distance, and I found that to be especially true early on in Season 3, even while the series remained entirely watchable.

The outrageous machinations of a man who schemed and murdered his way into the White House have been catnip to a legion of fans that helped establish Netflix as a go-to site for original entertainment, changing the way many of us approach serialized TV.

There are some intriguing new operators in the mix, especially a political rival played by the great theater actress Elizabeth Marvel, a frequent bit player in movies and TV who dives into this big role with relish.

The inspiration from real world political tensions give season three of House of Cards an added gravitas that goes beyond Frank Underwood's usual scheming, and adds another welcome dimension to the show.